Question about Plymouth Yukon Print Yarn

Super-bulky.

So knit hats > The gauge is listed as 2 sts per inch on US 15 needles....so is it Chunky

Ok I want to do a test hat for me.....my head is 22 inches so I multiply 2 sts per inch and get 44 sts so that is my cast on number? If my knitting gauge is the same.

Donna

WoolyGooly wrote:

Although...most people make caps 10-15% smaller to account for the fact that knitting stretches...

Ok that's why I am doing a test hat for me first BTW I am very Math Impaired.

yes, do make the hat a bit smaller than the head measurement or else it won't fit nice and snug around your ears. I did this (made it too big) but fortunately it felted right down.

Alison

Good point....my test swatch came out half a stitch too much so instead of 2 per inch I have 2 and half sts on the suggested size 13 needles....not sure what to do about that.

Donna

Make another swatch usng smaller needles!!!! (and keep on swatching until you get a result you like.)

Olwyn Mary n New Orleans.

Thanks Mary.....I tried 10 1/2 and that didn't work so will try to find 11's I need 12's is my guess but have never seen that size.

Donna

Um... using the ones you have, you got 2.5 sts per inch, but what you want is 2.0 sts per inch... so you want to use _bigger_ needles. Try size 15.

=Tamar

Or she might be able to get it on 13s.

sue

OOPS!! Glad you picked that up for me. (It's been one of those weeks, and looks like next week will be just a bad.)

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Oooops. Forgot about the previous post where she said that's what she's using and still getting too many sts/inch. Yeah, try the 15s.

sue

Donna

You could get a 3/8" hardwood dowel from your hardware store. It's roughly equal to a size 13 needle. Cut it to the length you want, stick the ends into a pencil sharpener to make the basic taper (I use our battery operated one at home), then sand it down ALMOST to a size

12 needle on the body with very rough sandpaper (a wood file takes off too much and creates a flat surface on your dowel faster than you'd think), and then switching to finer sandpaper BEFORE you've reached the thickness you want (8.5 mm), and get a smoother finished surface on the body of the needle and tips with finer sandpaper to finish sanding it down to 8.5 mm. Apply a LIGHT coating of linseed (now only available in the art supply section of Wal-Mart for me) or other wood working oil to a shop towel or paper towel and rub it lightly over the needles, then let them sit overnight to soak that in. Use a white unscented candle to wax any rough spots you may find when using the needles.

It takes me an hour to make two 12-inch needles (10 is too short, 14 too long for my liking) or one 6-inch crochet hook using dowels. For the crochet hook, you also need either a Dremel or equal cutting instrument for faster cutting of the hook head, a wood file to make the flat hand holds near the head of the hook, or more time and a sharp pocket knife to hand carve the whole thing, then you also have to sandpaper it smooth, oil it, and let it soak in overnight. If using a pocket knife, always point the blade AWAY from you and make sure there's no one across from you watching, because if you slip, or catch on a knot in the wood, accidents can happen. Also, when cutting with the Dremel or sanding, wear safely glasses or goggles.

Sounds complicated, but it's really not rocket science, it's knitting, and you need only an approximate in between size set of needles to change your gauge, so having a slight variation in the size around, as long as it's not 1/4 mm or larger, won't matter when making your own.

I used a 1/4" dowel and got a 6.0 mm set of needles, which is between size 10 (5.75 mm) and 10.5 (6.5 mm) on my Boye needle gauge, which can make a difference if I just can't get the gauge I need with 10 or

10.5.

If you're really creative, you can add decorative clay knobs or simply glue beads to one end of your needles if you want single points and are afraid your work will slide off the end.

Leah

and

Where are you getting these sizes from? 10s are 6mm and 13s are 9mm....

sue

LOL oh right....told yous I was Math impaired. Actually I am dyslectic.

Well now that I understand better I will try and knit looser.

OK

Donna

Thanks for all that information.....I will save this for later as I would love to make my own needles......the prices for good ones are high....I prefer the wood ones.

Donna